Adam Smith's Marketplace of Life
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: October 28, 2002
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 352
ISBN-13: 9780521016568
Subjects: Ethics & moral philosophy; Social & political philosophy; Moral and ethical aspects; Capitalism; Business / Economics / Finance; Philosophy; Business Ethics; History & Surveys - General; Philosophy / History, Criticism, Surveys; 1723-1790; Ethics; Smith, Adam,
First sentence: Virtually all features of Adam Smith's moral theory can be found in elementary form in the first three chapters of The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
Description: Publisher Description (unedited publisher data) Adam Smith wrote two books, one about economics and the other about morality. His Wealth of Nations argues for a largely free-market economy, while his Theory of Moral Sentiments argues that human morality develops out of a mutual sympathy that people seek with one another. How do these books go together? How do markets and morality mix? James Otteson provides a comprehensive examination and interpretation of Smith's moral theory and shows how his conception of the nature of morality applies to his understanding of markets, language and other social institutions. Considering Smith's notions of natural sympathy, the impartial spectator, human nature, and human conscience the author also addresses the issue of whether Smith thinks that moral judgments enjoy a transcendent sanction. James Otteson sees Smith's theory of morality as an institution that develops unintentionally but nevertheless in an orderly way according to a market model.